Oakhill

Elementary School

National Biodiversity Teach-In Launches for the Fourth Year

Jan. 31, 2019

Environmental science students from Elgin High School are once again preparing to virtually bring a variety of worldwide experts to the classroom as part of the fourth annual National Biodiversity Teach-In. The Teach-In is a series of 36 free webinars which will feature scientists discussing topics including snow leopards, butterflies, elephants, sharks, soil biodiversity, coral reefs, water conservation, and climate change. The event will also feature six award-winning children’s authors who write about nature, science, and our planet.

“I am so proud of the amazing line-up the students and teachers of Elgin High School have put together,” said Deb McMullen-Perryman, U-46 Coordinator of K-12 Science and Planetarium. “Students from across U-46 and beyond will have the opportunity to interact with scientists, authors, filmmakers, environmental educators, and heroes.”

The webinars first began in 2016 to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity. The 100-year anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeon and the story of Martha, the last known living passenger pigeon, increased the students’ interest and desire to discuss biodiversity with some of the best experts in the field.

In 2017 and 2018, the event attracted a growing number of environmental science enthusiasts from around the globe. Since the start of the event in 2016, the Teach-In has registered nearly 100,000 participants from 36 states and 19 other nations.

The Elgin High students have scheduled three dozen experts for webinars taking place during the school day and into the late afternoon on Feb. 1, 8, 15, and 22. The speakers will lead a lecture on an environmental topic and leave time for discussion.

The webinars are free and open to the public. The events will be broadcast on the Teach-In website at: www.nationalbiodiversityteachin.com. Registration is required in advance on the website.

Friday, Feb. 1

Time

Presenter

Topic

8 a.m.

Koustubh Sharma

Working with the Mountain’s Ambassador: The Snow Leopards

9 a.m.

Jeffrey Glassberg

The Butterfly Effect

10 a.m.

Lola Schaefer

Thee Surprise and Beauty of Nature, Children’s Author

11 a.m.

Dr. Deborah Giles

Southern Resident Killer Whale Research Topics and Techniques

12 p.m.

Patricia Newman

Elephants! How Their Conversation Sparks Conversation

1 p.m.

Joseph Milanovich

Amphibians & Global Change: What Do We Have to Lose?

2 p.m.

Naomi Rose

Beneath the Surface: The Impact of Captivity on the Welfare of Orcas

3 p.m.

Kevin Kurtz

Biodiversity in the Ocean: From Salt Marshes to Under the Seafloor

4 p.m.

Tess Krasne

Ocean Conservancy

Friday, Feb. 8

Time

Presenter

Topic

8 a.m.

CeCe Sieffert

Rhino Conservation in Africa & Asia

9 a.m.

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe

Climate Change

10 a.m.

David Shiffman

Shark Biology and Conservation

11 p.m.

Dawn Bazely

Amazing Arctic Plants Above the Treeline

12 p.m.

Leslie Bulion

Superlative Birds! Leaf Litter Critters! Science is Pure Poetry!

1 p.m.

Sandra Postel

How We Can Fix Our Broken Water Cycle

2 p.m.

Elizabeth Bach

Soil Biodiversity

3 p.m.

Cory Suski

Developing New Barriers to Stop the Movement of Invasive Asian

4 p.m.

Eva Hilldago

Sea Shepherd- Vaquita Campaign

Friday, Feb. 15

Time

Presenter

Topic

8 a.m.

Jon Armbruster

Evolution of Fish

9 a.m.

Jillian Morris

Shark Science & Media

10 a.m.

Melissa Stewart

No Monkeys, No Chocolate Q & A with the Author

11 a.m.

Dr. Kelly Jaakola

Studying Dolphins Up close and Why it Matters

12 p.m.

Zack Rago

Coral

1 p.m.

Dave Vaughan

Coral Restoration

2 p.m.

Ann Froschauer

Batty for Bats

3 p.m.

Jennifer Hopwood

Pollinator Conservation

4 p.m.

Alyssa McCall

Polar Bears in a Warming World

Friday, Feb. 22

Time

Presenter

Topic

8 a.m.

Joy Owens

The Elephant Sanctuary: Home, Herd, Rest and Refuge

9 a.m.

Pam Otto & Lisa O’Brien

Our “Wild” Pets- Canines

10 a.m.

Dr. Timothy Mousseau

Radiation, Mutations and the Chernobyl Zone

11 a.m.

Nancy Castaldo

Back from the Brink: Saving Animals from Extinction

12 p.m.

David Bain

Killer Whales: Why Endangered Killer Whales Need Help and What We Can Do.